Adjustments for the optimism bias have since been factored into the budget of many UK government projects, including most recently the 2012 London Olympics.
The onrush of so manyprojects at one time is certainly daring: not since Mrs Thatcher has a British politician seemed in quite so much of a hurry to do a lot.
Plus, companies are eliminating many of their upfront costs and risks, since crowdsourcers are responsible for developing and executing projects on their own dime.
Many regard it as strictly a boys' book, since Crusoe's survival techniques and construction projects play out like merit exercises for budding Eagle Scouts.
Etelin said he knew Merah since he was about 17, and described his life as typical for many teenagers and young men in poor French housing projects who get involved in criminal activity.